The Sandia Matadors will be staying on the road on Saturday to face off against the Rio Grande Ravens at 2:00 p.m. on January 20th. One thing working in Sandia's favor is that they have posted big point totals in their last 12 matches.
On Thursday, Sandia faced Cleveland in a battle between two of the state's top teams. Sandia took a hard 82-64 fall against Cleveland. Having run the score up that high, both teams might be doing some extra defensive drills very soon.
Meanwhile, Rio Grande's recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Tuesday after their fourth straight loss. They received a tough blow as they fell 73-58 to West Mesa. Having run the score up that high, both teams probably have some extra defensive drills coming up.
The loss doesn't tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Santiago Gonzalez, who scored 24 points. Mateo Gonzalez was another key contributor, scoring 15 points along with eight rebounds.
Rio Grande struggled to get the ball back on offense and finished the game with only three offensive rebounds. That's the fewest offensive rebounds they've managed all season.
Sandia's defeat dropped their record down to 9-6. As for Rio Grande, their defeat dropped their record down to 5-7.
Everything came up roses for Sandia against Rio Grande when the teams last played back in March of 2023 as the team secured a 65-30 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for Sandia since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
